I realize you’re eager to dig out some tools and learn how to repair your faulty nut. Me too. We’re almost there, but, just for a moment, let’s take it down a notch. Think baby steps.

Those nasty string buzzes and rattles can also be caused by nut slots that are cut too low. In extreme cases, the string(s) might actually be sitting on the first fret; or often a string just has to be close enough to the fret to make contact when it’s struck open.

Your gut reaction might be to grab a hammer to beat the offending top nut to death and glue a new one in there. But wait. Just like a nut with worn or over-wide slots, you can repair perilously low slots with super glue.

Again, as Dick Van Dyke would say, diagnosis is everything. Don’t approach your guitar with any tool until you know A) what the problem is, and B) what you need to do to fix it.

Last time I mentioned that you should always make sure that a guitar is tuned up to pitch — or to any alternate tuning that it may be set up to handle. If the tuning isn’t right, it can affect the neck.

If the slots on the nut appear too low — you’re getting the buzzes and rattles when you play open strings, etc. — it could be that the neck needs to be adjusted. If the guitar is tuned too low, the neck won’t have enough tension on it and could be over-bent.

In layman’s terms, this means the middle of the fingerboard is higher than the headstock and body end. This can cause the strings to buzz over the first five or so frets.

To check if your guitar’s neck needs to be adjusted, you have to eyeball the neck itself. Hold the guitar by the body (See pic 1 in the photo gallery below), never the headstock. If you hold the guitar by the headstock (See pic 2), you’ll put pressure on the neck, which, although slight, will give you a false reading of the neck’s "straightness."

Now look down the bass side of the fingerboard (See pic 3). Try closing one eye. You’ll look like Popeye, but it will help you focus. You should be able to tell if the neck is straight, dipped or over-bent. Repeat the process with the treble side of the fingerboard.

Armed with this information, you can decide whether the neck needs to be adjusted. Speaking of which ...

Next time, I’ll show you how to finish adjusting the neck and begin the process of repairing the slots in a faulty top nut. For the latter job, you’ll need super glue, which doesn’t cost much, and nut files. You can buy a set of nut files of varying gauges (approx $140) from the likes of Stewart-MacDonald; or buy a single file (about $25) if you’re tackling a particular slot.

I would recommend investing in a full set. That way you’ll be able to build a top nut from scratch one day ... one of the most satisfying guitar maintenance jobs there is.

That’s something I’ll talk you through very soon. See you next time.

Got a gear-related question for Ed Mitchell? Add a comment below or on our Facebook page.

Now look down the bass side of the fingerboard (pic 3). Try closing one eye. You’ll look like Popeye, but it will help you focus. You should be able to tell if the neck is straight, dipped or over-bent. Repeat the process with the treble side of the fingerboard.

Comments

Hey Ed! I'm trying to set up my SG and I wanted to tinker with the neck and lower the action. I can hear the intonation is a bit off as well. I looked down the neck and I noticed on the lower string side that the neck was bent in a bit. A back bow? But on the high string side the neck looked straight. Could I possible have a twisted neck? Any info you may have would be much appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Your neck should never be perfectly flat. The mechanics of the string vibration and the intersection of the string at the nut (for open notes) or fretting a note will make your strings buzz. There should always be relief ( a slight bow) in the neck or else your strings will buzz on the frets. How much relief is up to you as an individual as playing styles differ for different players.

Hey Ed! I'm trying to set up my SG and I wanted to tinker with the neck and lower the action. I can hear the intonation is a bit off as well. I looked down the neck and I noticed on the lower string side that the neck was bent in a bit. A back bow? But on the high string side the neck looked straight. Could I possible have a twisted neck? Any info you may have would be much appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Your neck should never be perfectly flat. The mechanics of the string vibration and the intersection of the string at the nut (for open notes) or fretting a note will make your strings buzz. There should always be relief ( a slight bow) in the neck or else your strings will buzz on the frets. How much relief is up to you as an individual as playing styles differ for different players.

I teach my students to lay the guitar flat, making sure the neck is not resting on anything, and have a good light source behind the neck. Depress the string at the first fret and the last fret, creating a flat edge along the length of the neck. Just like they do at the fender factory. At the 7th fret, should be able to see space between the bottom of the string and the fret. 0.12" by fender specs, (I prefer it a bit lower), but for those without precision measuring tools, about the width of two business cards. And that absolutely flat is not correct, but a little relief is needed.